The Man In The Stables
by spooky-fbi
Summary: In Into The Deep, Regina tells Henry that the only time she used magic was "with Daniel", and they both act like Henry knew all about it, even though he wasn't there for that scene. So this is the missing scene where she told him what happened.


A/N: This is a missing scene set sometime either during Child of the Moon, or between Child of the Moon and Into the Deep. I wrote this fic before Queen of Hearts aired, and Regina's actions in QoH somewhat contradict what she says in this fic, so it doesn't completely work anymore unfortunately. I also wrote this with the assumption that Regina's backstory wasn't in Henry's book, but after rewatching Hat Trick, I caught a blink-and-you'll-miss-it picture from The Stable Boy in the book. So that contradicts this fic too I suppose. Ah well, what can be done?

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"There you go," Regina said as she tucked Henry back into bed.

"Don't forget the candle." He reminded her.

"Right" she said as she struck the match.

"If David isn't back before I wake up, you'll still be here, right?" She felt a tug on her heart at the thought that Henry wanted her there.

"Of course," she assured him, "I won't leave this chair, I promise." He nodded and sighed, but didn't close his eyes. "What's wrong?"

He shrugged "I'm just not very sleepy."

"Just close your eyes." She said softly, and gently turned him onto his side and began rubbing his back. "Do you remember when you were younger and you couldn't get to sleep, I used to do this?

"Mhm" he replied drowsily, though he didn't close his eyes.

"And it always worked."

"Mhm…" She felt him relaxing under her hands. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, anything."

"Who was that man in the stables?"

Regina paused for a moment, a wave of sadness rushing over her as she recalled that night. "His name was Daniel." She said finally, searching Henry's face for any sign of recognition."

"Which fairytale character is he?"

"He's… " She wasn't quite sure how to describe him "He's the Evil Queen's true love."

Henry looked at her, now wide awake. "You had a true love?"

"Yes…" She was confused by his surprise. "That wasn't in your book?"

He shook his head "No, it always had you as the Evil Queen, you were only married to Snow White's father."

"Well that's rather biased." She muttered, but Henry didn't hear her.

"So the two of you are reunited now?"

She gave him a weak smile. "No. Daniel was killed a long time ago. He was brought back to life by a man who knows a very powerful form of magic, but… it didn't work properly, I think. Daniel was in a lot of pain. He begged me to… I had to…" She trailed off, unable to bring herself to say it.

"You killed him." Henry finished the sentence for her. "But you did it to help him."

Regina nodded. She looked into Henry's eyes now and forced herself to admit the truth to him. "And I used magic to do it. I know I promised you that I wouldn't and I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He assured her. "You weren't doing it to be evil. The Evil Queen would've just let him suffer so that she could keep him. I think you did the right thing."

"That's what Archie said."

Henry cocked his head slightly. "How did Daniel die? I mean originally?" He asked it so innocently but it still sent a pain shooting through Regina's heart.

"Well..." She settled him back into bed and began rubbing his back again, hoping he'd be asleep before she got to that part. "When the King proposed to me, my mother was thrilled. All my life she wanted me to grow up to be powerful, and to be Queen, well… that's probably the best thing she could've hoped for. But I was devastated. All I wanted was to marry Daniel and live happily ever after, just like everyone else in that land. So Daniel and I decided to run away. But Snow caught us. I begged her not to tell my mother what we were doing, and she promised me she wouldn't. But she broke her promise. She told my mother everything." Regina felt the anger welling inside her. She hadn't realized that she'd stopped rubbing Henry's back. She was so caught up in her painful memories that she'd forgotten Henry was even there. "My mother stopped us as we were about to leave. I told her how much I loved Daniel and wanted to be with him, but she didn't care. She tore his heart out right in front of me and she crushed it. I loved him so much and she took him from me. She ripped someone I loved so dearly out of my life, I was so miserable. What kind of a mother would do that?"

"You almost did." It took a few moments for the words to sink in, for Regina to realize where she was. It wasn't even an accusation, just a statement of fact.

Finally, she turned to Henry. "What?"

There wasn't an ounce of venom in the words that came next; they were just said simply and honestly. "You kept trying to separate me and Emma. When you gave her the apple turnover, you just wanted to get rid of her. You didn't care that I love her."

Regina felt a sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach as she processed what Henry had told her. Her chest felt tight and she struggled to breathe. Had she really almost condemned her own beloved son to the very fate that she had suffered through? "You're right. Henry…" she whispered, wanting more than anything to have the right words to say, the right deed to perform, to make it up to him. "I don't know what I can possibly say, I…"

"Say you're sorry." He told her. "And that you won't do it again. And mean it."

She was grateful to have something tangible to focus on. She'd say those words to him and more. "I know what it feels like to lose someone you love. What it does to you." She felt tears prickling behind her eyes and a lump in the back of her throat, but she forced the words out. "And I'm so, so sorry that I let you feel even a little bit of that, and I'm even sorrier that I'm the one who caused it. Love is such a powerful thing. It's the most powerful thing in the world. And Henry," she whispered, cupping his face, "you have so much love in your life. I love you. Emma loves you. Mary Margaret and David love you. Ruby and Granny love you. Archie loves you. I think even Mr Gold loves you. He gave you that necklace for free, and he never gives anyone magic for free. You have so many people who love you. And I promise, with all my heart, that I won't let anyone take that away from you. And I certainly won't be the one to take it away from you ever again."

Henry nodded and gave her wrist a squeeze. "Thank you." He snuggled back into bed. "I wish you and Daniel could have been together. Everyone deserves a happy ending."

Regina resumed rubbing Henry's back. "And I wish I had a way to bring Emma and Mary Margaret back."

"We will." He said with a yawn as he closed his eyes. "Good always wins."

"That's right, it does." She replied with far more confidence than she felt.

Henry didn't respond and Regina could tell that he was already fast asleep.

"Goodnight, Sweetheart."


End file.
